Shake, Rattle and Roll

Discount Real Estate in the Golden State ...California residents suffered through their fourth (!) earthquake of the week last night.This time, the epicenter was off the coast of Ferndale, Calif. in the northern part of the state, Reuters reports this morning. The 6.6 magnitude earthquake was enough to rattle Californians' already jangly nerves (no amount of sunshiney mellowness can insulate you from the wrath of Mother Nature, it seems), but luckily, it was not enough to cause serious injury or property damage.Some recommendations on things to do before California finally slides into the Pacific?1. Visit the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco and soak up some of the beatnik atmosphere.2. C'mon, get that Sideways wine tour out of your system. You know you've been blathering like an idiot about Merlots ever since you saw the flick, and it's boring your friends to death. Get it over with, already.3. Find a Hollywood studio executive, grab him by the lapels, shake violently and yell, "A Bewitched remake? You've got all this money and the best you can come up with is a freaking Bewitched remake??" You'll feel much better, we can guarantee it.4. Buy distressed real estate with no money down.

The Saga of ...State Rep. Jeff Habay just keeps getting stranger and stranger.On Thursday, a district magistrate ordered the southwestern Pennsylvania lawmaker bound over for trial on charges that he told police that a political adversary had sent him an envelope filled with a mysterious white powder and that he'd ordered his staff to do political work on state time.According to the Tribune-Review, Thursday's proceedings got a touch on the raucous side. His patience tried by some boisterous spectators, Habay attorney John Elash demanded, "I want those morons thrown out of the courtroom."Elash was then reminded by Magistrate Eugene Zielmanski that the morons in question were only doing their civic duty.Zielmanksi set a formal arraignment date for Aug. 25 in Allegheny County Court. Habay, 39, could face 40 years in prison if he's convicted on all 21 counts against him.

Speaking of Strange ...Yet sadly unsurprising news stories. The Boston Globe reports this morning that federal lawmakers, taking advantage of national support for defense spending, are using the military's budget to bring home billions of dollars in pork that have little or nothing to do with the war effort or fighting terrorism.Politicians getting greedy? The hell, you say!But it is happening.Among those singled out in the Globe's report is U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-12th, who the newspaper says kept the National Drug Intelligence Center in his hometown of Johnstown open, even though the Pentagon had decided to shut it down.Lawmakers inserted all sorts of easter eggs into the Pentagon's initial $363.7 billion budget request, including $5 million to study mood disorders, $2.7 million to research a cancer vaccine and $4 million for a project identified as the "diabetes regeneration project" (Capitol Ideas has always naively thought that science wanted to stop diabetes, not find ways to regenerate it.).In last year's defense budget, lawmakers shoe-horned in about $12 billion in additional spending, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense. The research group expects that amount to be even higher this year.It is at times like this that Capitol Ideas is reminded of P.J. O'Rourke's all too accurate observation that leaving gobs of money around politicians is not unlike leaving your teenagers the keys to the Porsche and the liquor cabinet when you go out of town.Neither have any impulse control.Sweet Home ChicagoPhiladelphia schools boss Paul Vallas has filed paperwork to declare himself a resident of Illinois -- just in time for next year's governor's race in the Land of Lincoln. Vallas, you might recall, worked wonders in the troubled Chicago schools, but had to leave the Windy City because he and Mayor Richard Daley tend to get along like two cats in a sack. Vallas also made an unsuccessful bid for the Illinois governorship in 2002, losing in a primary to current Democratic Gov. (and former Congressman and son-in-law to a well-connected Daley loyalist) Rod Blagoevich.Illinois state law requires a candidate to have lived in the state for three years prior to running for the office, but the court filing says there's still a Vallas campaign committee in Illinois, which we assume means he sorta lives there still ... kinda ...Despite all this, Vallas says he will see out his contract in Philly, which expires in 2007. Stay tuned ...

You Really Like Him ...Or maybe not. A new poll of all 100 U.S. senators by an outfit calling itself Survey USA (which operates polls for TV stations nationwide, including KDKA in Pittsburgh)finds that U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., had among the lowest approval ratings of his colleagues.The random sampling concluded that 44 percent of voters say Santorum is doing a good job, compared to 38 percent who said he is not. Conventional political wisdom holds that an approval rating of less than 50 percent for a sitting lawmaker often spells bad news. Santorum, who is running for re-election in 2006 in one of the most closely watched races in the nation, will face Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. at the polls.Fifrty-four percent of poll respondents, meanwhile, said they approved of Keystone State senior U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, compared to 29 percent who said they did not.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ...has given slots manufacturers until Aug.15 to submit their requests for licenses, the Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports this morning. The state's slots law (which, in an ironic twist, could actually be overturned by the state Supreme Court before that filing deadline) requires manufacturers to be licensed at least 90 days before operating licenses can be issued.The slots law authorizes the creation of 14 slots parlors at horse tracks and standalone locations, but state regulators have moved slowly while they wait for the Supremes to make up their mind on a constitutional challenge to the law.

On The Blogs:Teagan Goddard on hopes by conservatives that a new book will derail U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's, D-N.Y., presidential aspirations; Harry Shearer wants to know what a journalist is; Crooks and Liars links to footage from The Daily Show last night; Political Animal gives it up for WashPost White House blogger Dan Froomkin; Hullabaloo is still looking for answers on the Iraq invasion; PowerLine Blog dissects Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's 2008 ambitions; Keystone Politics links to a lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood filed by a Maryland woman claiming the PA lawmaker repeatedly assaulted her during a five-year relationship; GrassrootsPA leads with Sherwood's denial; Wonkette on the departure of an aide to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, after just six months on the job; and Hit and Run on the shark fin soup at the Hong Kong Disneyland.

Our Favorite Movie At The Moment (Until We See Batman Begins tonight):Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn. This was a recent birthday present from Mrs. Capitol Ideas. And yeah, Flynn's wearing tights, but he could still kick your butt. And was there ever a cooler film villain than Basil Rathbone? If there is, we can't think of him.

The Final Gratuituously Unnecessary Soccer Link of the Week:For reasons entirely too complicated to explain here, the libel trial between two English Premiership players has collapsed after the jury failed to reach a verdict, The Independent reports this morning.

In last year's defense budget, lawmakers shoe-horned in about $12 billion in additional spending, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense. The research group expects that amount to be even higher this year.

In last year's defense budget, lawmakers shoe-horned in about $12 billion in additional spending, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense. The research group expects that amount to be even higher this year.

Thank god! this 6.6 magnitude earthquake was not enough to cause serious injury or property damage... Buying distressed real estate with no money down is a good option to do before California finally slides into the Pacific....